South Carolina ETV

South Carolina ETV
1101 George Rogers Boulevard
Columbia, SC 29201-4761
Phone: 803-737-3545

I Don't Think We're in Kansas Anymore (Grades 2-5)

Master Teacher

Floyd Dinkins

Time Allotment

One 55-minute period will be needed (more if class-generated discussion is rich).

Overview

In this lesson, students are taken back in time to the 1930s when the Kansas landscape was marred by poor land management and drought. We know this as the Dust Bowl. When studying erosion processes, oftentimes we associate erosion with water; however, wind erosion was, and continues to be, a major force of agricultural land loss and erosion.

Subject Matter

Earth Sciences

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to:

Give examples of erosion and weathering processes.
Determine causes of America's Dust Bowl phenomena.
Define erosion as the condition in which the earth's surface is worn away by the action of water and wind.
Explain ways to prevent erosion.

South Carolina Curriculum Standards

(These Standards are available online at http://www.myscschools.com/offices/cso )

Science:

Inquiry:

Plan and conduct a simple investigation.

1. Ask a question about objects, organisms, and events in the environment.

Construct and interpret models that illustrate features of the Earth.
Compare some changes in the Earth' surface that are due to slow processes, such as erosion and weathering, with some changes that are due to rapid processes, such as landslides, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes.
Infer how human behavior, such as farming, mining, and construction, changes the Earth's surface. (P, N)
Predict and explain the consequences of natural events, such as fire, flood, drought, erosion, earthquake, and volcanic eruption. (P)

Media Components

Video

Dustbowl . This one-minute black and white video allows students to see actual dust bowl conditions from the 1930s and briefly discusses causes and effects of wind erosion.

"Erosion," a segment from the series Our Changing Earth , delivers a wonderful overview of Earth's two primary eroding forces: wind and water. It lasts two minutes.

To access these two video clips, log on to your account at ETV's StreamlineSC Web page ( http://etv.streamlinesc.org ). In the search by keyword box, type in the series title (Dustbowl or Our Changing Earth) and hit go. Click the series title and then click the video segment you want and download it to your desktop.

( Note to Teacher: If you don't have an account with ETV's StreamlineSC, check with your media specialist about signing up for an account.)

Dust Devils on Mars. This 2:50 video segment is narrated by Dr. Mark Lemmon who introduces us to video shot by the Mars rover of "dust-devils" on Mars. The similarity to Earth's tornadoes becomes apparent. Download the Quicktime movie at: http://www.weru.ksu.edu/new_weru/multimedia/movies/movies.html

Web Site

Wind Erosion Multimedia Archive

http://www.weru.ksu.edu/new_weru/multimedia/multimedia.html

This site, operated by Kansas State University, catalogs multimedia records of wind erosion phenomena from across the globe. Archived and dated photographs provide evidence that the 1930s Dust Bowl was not a one time occurrence.

Materials

The Dust Bowl by David Booth (a 32-page picture book published by Kids Can Press, Limited, 1997)
chart paper or dry erase board
Anticipatory Guide

Per Group of Four Students:

one 9 x 12 plastic tub
one straw
playground sand
small objects such as pennies, buttons, nails
small squares of outdoor carpet or green felt

Equipment

Computer
TV

Prep for Teachers

Download two visual media segments: the "Erosion" video segment from Our Changing Earth and Dustbowl from ETV's StreamlineSC . Just before teaching the lesson, have the videos pulled up and paused, ready to begin playing by clicking the "PLAY" button. Saving these on your desktop will facilitate time and effort in using them for instruction.

Bookmark (onto desktop) the Web site Wind Erosion Multimedia Archive http://www.weru.ksu.edu/new_weru/multimedia/multimedia.html .

Purchase or check out the children's picture book The Dust Bowl by David Booth.

Collect 1 tub of sand (playground sand works fine) for every 4 students. Place four inches of sand in each of the plastic tubs. Make sure the sand is dry.

Make copies of the Anticipatory Guide for each student.

• When using media, provide students with a Focus for Media Interaction , a specific task to complete and/or information to identify during or after viewing of video segments, Web sites, or other multimedia elements.

Introductory Activity

Step 1: Gather students together in a common "shared" area. Ask the students if they have ever witnessed a dust devil or heavy clouds of dust/sand in the air. Discuss any students' observations/remembrances of dust devils. Inquire about occurrences of sand in eyes, the sting of sand on skin. Elicit responses where many senses are employed in describing sand storms or dust devils. (Accept and develop all student responses.)

Step 2: Ask students to think about what might be the cause of dust storms. (Accept all responses-write some responses on chart paper or on the dry erase board.) Leave the responses on the board so that AFTER the lesson, you can return to "causes" to perhaps add more.

Step 3: Hold up the book The Dust Bowl by David Booth. Ask the students what they think a "dust bowl" might be. (Answers may include football bowl games.) Before reading the book, ask students to pay attention to 1) what dust bowls are and 2) how they come to be ( Note to Teacher: avoid using the word "form" as this implies a process ).

Step 4: Read The Dust Bowl to the class, pausing for students to be able to see the illustrations. Think-aloud to the class every few pages by saying, "I'm thinking a dust bowl must be .." so that students are reminded of the focus for reading/listening to the book.

Step 5 : After reading the book, ask students to share what they think a dust bowl might be. (Accept all responses.) Elicit responses where senses are involved. "How do you think it felt to be there?" "What would you have felt like being in a dust storm? (affective responses )

Learning Activity

Step 1: Cue the one-minute Dustbowl video. Share with the class that you have actual video footage of dust bowl conditions. The pictures in the video Dustbowl are in black and white because color video was unavailable at the time. Before sharing in the video experience, provide students with a Focus for Media Interaction, asking them to listen to factors that led to the cause of the Dust Bowl. (The video will discuss two: farmlands not being properly managed AND a terrible drought.)

Step 2: PLAY the video.

Step 3: PAUSE the video when you hear "and a terrible drought was occurring" and you see the pants' legs of a man walking through a dead cornfield. At this point, check for comprehension: Prompt "So, what were the two factors?" (Accept student responses . ) At this point begin to move student thinking to man-made causes for the dust bowl. Ask the students, "So of those two factors, which might have been caused by humans?" Listen for responses indicating poor farmland management processes.

Step 4: PLAY video again. Video will end in 28 seconds. At the end of video, ask students "So, again, what were some of the causes of the Dust Bowl?" ( Prompt for answers again dealing with poor land management practices.) Ask, "Do you think the Dust Bowl could be considered a type of erosion?" (Accept student responses. ) Do not give away too much information, which would "taint" the Anticipatory Guide that follows.

Step 5: Explain to students that you will give them an Anticipatory Guide in a few minutes. The guide will give them some statements with which they can agree or disagree. There is no right or wrong, we are only looking for prior knowledge/schema about erosion processes. Pass out the Anticipatory Guide.

Step 6: While students are at their seats/desks, have them respond to the five statements in the Anticipatory Guide. Students may need the statements read aloud. Instruct them to respond in the BEFORE column with a T if they agree the statement is true and with an F if they think the statement is false. The DURING column will be used during the playing of the video segment.

Step 7: After all students have responded to the statements, instruct them to use the Anticipatory Guide as a Focus for Media Interaction. They should listen to the video and if the narrator mentions any of the statements, they can place, in the DURING column an A if they agree or a D if they disagree.

Step 8: Cue the "Erosion" video segment from the series Our Changing Earth . PLAY the segment, which lasts two minutes, all the way through without stopping. Walk around the room as students place agree/disagree comments on the Anticipatory Guide.

Step 9: When the video is over, ask students to display raised hands for all those who discovered something from the video. If students are sitting in groups (tables or desk clusters), ask the students to share for one or two minutes with group partners something they discovered from the video. Walk around to observe/listen to discussion. As time ends, move to computer to re-cue video for replay.

Step 10: In this step, the students will watch the video once more, this time with occasional pauses to check for understanding. REPLAY the video from the beginning.

Step 11: PAUSE the video when you hear the narrator say, " Erosion occurs when lose bits of rock and soil move from one place to another " and you see wind blowing over the sand dune. At this point, you will check for understanding of statement one on the Anticipatory Guide. State, "Class, by show of thumbs up if you agree that statement is true and thumbs down if you think the statement is false, how many of you agree with the first statement-Erosion occurs when lose bits of rock and soil move from one place to another?" (Observe class response. If someone disagrees-in actuality, the statement is true-ask him/her to share his/her thinking.) After any discussions, share with the class that statement one is true.

Step 12: Click PLAY on the computer to restart the video. The next statement "The wind can be a powerful force of erosion" will immediately play.

Step 13: PAUSE the video once again when you hear the narrator say, "The Sangre de Cristo Mountains.." and you see sand dunes. At this point, again, ask the students to give you thumbs up or thumbs down for true and false. (Accept any discussions as points of learning.) The second statement is false.

Step 14: Click PLAY again to restart the video. PLAY until you hear the narrator say, "Powerful waves.." and you see ocean waves breaking on shore. At this point PAUSE the video and ask students for thumbs up and thumbs down. (Accept any discussions as points of learning.) The third statement is true.

Step 15: Click PLAY again to restart the video. PLAY until you hear the narrator say, "The flowing water carries sediments." You will see a river flowing to the right of the screen. At this point PAUSE the video and ask students for thumbs up and thumbs down. (Accept any discussions as points of learning.) The fourth statement is false.

Step 16: Click PLAY again to restart the video. PLAY until you hear the narrator say, "As this sediment is carried downstream it grinds.." You will see a canyon. At this point PAUSE the video and ask students for thumbs up and thumbs down. (Accept any discussions as points of learning.) The fifth statement is true.

Step 17: Click PLAY again to restart the video. PLAY until the video ends.

Step 18: Ask students if anyone would like to share any new discoveries. Say: "We know when we've made discoveries because our thinking changes. If we agreed with a statement BEFORE the video and then during the video changed our minds, then we have learned or made discoveries." ( Note to Teacher: E mphasize that "getting" it right is not as important as proving learning occurred.)

Step 19: Bring students back to the second statement: "Wind cannot be a powerful force of erosion." Ask the students how this might apply to the Dust Bowl read-aloud and the earlier video.

Step 20 : Ask students what they think about the last statement: "Dustbowl windstorms have only happened in the 1930s?" This was not addressed in the video, so students have not yet been able to prove or disprove their predictions. Inform students "I have pictures that may prove or disprove this last statement."

Step 20: Pull up the site previously bookmarked on desktop: Wind Erosion Multimedia Archive (http://www.weru.ksu.edu/new_weru/multimedia/multimedia.html). Before viewing the Web site, p rovide students with a Focus for Media Interaction , asking them to predict if Dust Bowl storms are still occurring today. Then have them check the Web site to see if their predictions are correct.

Step 21: Click on the hyperlink Dust Storms of 2005 . Allow students to view the different photographs of storms that have occurred. The site has photo archives of storms for the past 70 years including Dust Bowl photographs. Another great link to visit is the Wind Erosion from Space link.

Step 22 : Students have now been exposed to visual media about the Dust Bowl; the discussion about how to prevent erosion should naturally ensue. Direct students to the Culminating Prompt ( I can help prevent wind erosion by ..). Have students make predictions on how to prevent wind erosion. (Accept all responses.)

Step 23 : Inform students that they will now explore wind erosion and possible preventatives in a hands-on activity. As they engage in active exploration, the focus should remain on how humans might prevent wind erosion.

Culminating Activity

Students will now have an opportunity to re-create Dust Bowl conditions with a focus on finding ways to prevent sand movement (erosion prevention).

Step 1: Give each group a tub filled with four inches of dry sand.

Step 2: Ask: "What could this tub of sand represent?" (Accept all responses.)

Step 3: Give each student in each group a plastic drinking straw. Ask: "What could we represent with this straw?" (Accept all responses.)

Step 4: Have students blow through the straws onto the sand. Address issues of sand on the table or floor from "extreme" winds. Encourage students to form sand piles in the middle and blow to see how surface features affect wind movements.

Step 5: Give each student a bag with various small weighted items (e.g., pennies, nails, rocks, etc). Instruct students to place objects in the tubs with the sand. Ask: "Does anyone want to predict what he or she thinks will happen when we blow sand with objects in the tub?" (Accept a few responses)

Step 6 Have students blow (create wind) to see how objects affect sand movement (erosion).

Step 7 : Provide students with pieces of green felt (or small squares of outdoor carpet). Instruct the students to place the felt into the tubs of sand so that some surface area of the sand is covered.

Step 8 : Elicit predictions from the class as to what affect (if any) the green felt will have on the sand. ( Accept all predictive responses. )

Step 9 : Instruct students to blow over the felt-covered sand. (Observe and concentrate on student interactions as they blow over the felt.)

Step 10 : Ask students what they observed about wind erosion and the sand under the green felt. Prompt further as to what might be the cause of their observations.

Step 11 : Ask students to infer what the green felt might represent in the real world-in nature. (Accept responses while guiding inferences to grass-cover.)

Step 12 : Instruct students to write or draw responses to the Anticipatory Guide prompt "I can help prevent wind erosion by.." Students will be given 5-10 minutes to complete responses.

Step 13 : Bring students back to "sharing" area so they can share written or drawn responses to the prompt. Discuss ideas shared and possible ways to employ student ideas.

Cross-Curricular Extensions

Social Science: Many grade levels study 1930s U.S. history with the Great Depression and C.C.C. Students can conduct a pictorial study of Dust Bowl emigrants (farmers and their families that moved from Kansas in lieu of the Dust Bowl).

Community Connections

Often we see crews working on new construction (highways and such) cover exposed land with green foam that encourages plant growth while preventing erosion. Bring in a representative from a company that performs such services to talk about how the material is made and how often the company's services are rendered.

Walk around the school-yard or neighborhood to look for instances of erosion occurring. What could students do to prevent it?